In the commercial processing of poultry, the birds are suspended by their feet on an overhead conveyor system and are moved through processing stations at which the birds are killed, defeathered, and their feet are removed. Conventional defeathering apparatus include a multiple number of flexible fingers mounted on rotary discs and/or rotary drums which engage the bird carcass and rub against the feathers and the skin of the bird to remove the feathers from the skin.
As the defeathering apparatus is positioned in a sequential series of other poultry processing operations, it is important that the defeathering apparatus be easily maintained and repaired. Any "downtime" of the defeathering apparatus usually causes a wave of downtime with respect to the other machines along the processing line.
The prior art defeathering apparatus commonly include banks of picking discs arranged on either side of the poultry processing line. Each bank includes several rotary picking discs which have flexible picking fingers mounted thereto. The rotary picking discs of each bank are driven by a motor and arranged within a cabinet. As the bird moves between the opposed banks of picking discs, the motor rotates the picking discs and thereby the picking fingers, to cause the picking fingers to rub against the carcass of the bird. The banks of picking fingers are adjustable so that the picking fingers can engage substantially the entire surface of the poultry carcass.
The prior defeathering apparatus also include a mechanism for adjusting the spacing of the banks of picking fingers with respect to one another. The prior art includes U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,596,309 of Vertegaal; 3,747,159 of Harbin; 4,217,678 of Crawford et al; and 4,514,879 of Hazenbroek. These patents teach apparatus which allow the orientation of the picking discs to be adjusted and the spacing of the banks of picking fingers to be adjusted.
Vertegaal, Harbin, Crawford et al generally teach an apparatus in which access to the picking fingers for maintenance is provided by adjusting the spacing of the banks of picking fingers to the maximum extent possible. However, even when the banks of picking fingers are moved apart their maximum distance, the worker does not have sufficient room to conveniently and rapidly replace the worn picking fingers.
The known prior art does not provide a simple, economical, reliable, and effective mechanism for providing easy access for maintenance and replacement of picking fingers in a defeathering apparatus which permits the banks of picking fingers to be moved away from each other a distance which permits a worker to conveniently remove and replace picking fingers. Accordingly, it is to this end that the present invention is primarily directed.